Tag: touring

Gig Bag: Michigan Rattlers

Posted on by Editor

Welcome to Gig Bag, a BGS feature that peeks into the touring essentials of some of our favorite artists. This time around, the band Michigan Rattlers show us what they gotta have on the road.

Touring life is mostly made up of downtime. Usually it’s in a van or in a bar, so you have to be careful not to spend all of it staring at a phone or drinking. Books are great.

So are notebooks. There are pens and markers all over the van. Plus, Adam Reed paints and draws. He designs a lot of our merch and stuff while we’re out on tour.

The first time we ever came back from a tour with cash, we spent it right away on new gloves. Playing catch is about the only active thing we ever do. Sometimes we even get games going if we can find more players.

Seeeeds.

Wearing the same thing every day is the best way to travel.

Lede photo credit: Kris Wixom
All other photos courtesy of the artist.

GIG BAG: Beta Radio

Posted on by Editor

Welcome to Gig Bag, a BGS feature that peeks into the touring essentials of some of our favorite artists. This time around, Benjamin Mabry and Brent Holloman of Beta Radio show us what they gotta have on the road.

Fan (Ben): All my life I’ve slept with a fan, so when we’re touring I’ve gotta sleep with something that’ll make noise and keep me comfortable. Most nights, my body runs at or near the average temperature of a neutron bomb explosion, so this is seriously one of the most important things that I own. Love this little guy.

Multi-tool (Ben): I grew up watching MacGyver, so most of the time I carry some type of multi-tool on my person to help get me out of a jam when necessary (or to spread some jam on a piece of toast when necessary). This is the Skeletool from Leatherman. It’s lightweight and slick, so I’m always prepared for whatever adventures (or fruit preserves) that may lie ahead.

Gameboy + Tetris (Ben): I’m not a gamer at all, but there is one game that I literally can’t get enough of, Tetris. This bad boy has been in my possession since 1998. It helps pass long rides, which is something there is a lot of on tour, and I seriously dare anyone to try to beat my high score of 4,070,969 points / 1485 lines. If you do, email me with proof and I may send you a prize.

Canon camera + deconstructed lens (Brent): I was a photographer before going full-time as a musician, so I love capturing life on the road with this camera and deconstructed Nikon lens. I bought the lens from a Goodwill and then took it apart. I shoot, while holding the lens in front of the camera at different angles, and it sort of acts like a tilt shift. This gets me photos with a lot of light leaks and imperfections, and over all some really interesting shots.

Cooler (Brent): I like to have cold water on the trip at all times. We are always getting lots of bottles of water and 10 lb pound bags of ice. They go in the cooler.

Cot + pillow + blankets (Ben & Brent): We take turns driving, and whoever isn’t driving gets the option to relax of this old, spring loaded, fold up cot. Every time the van hits a pot hole it sends you flying a half foot in the air. Safe? No. Luxurious? Eh, maybe.

Guitar + Tronical tuning system (Brent): I know it seems obvious to take a guitar on the road, but I don’t play this guitar on stage. This is an old Gibson archtop and it’s the guitar I do most of my writing on. I installed a Tronical tuning system on it so I could change tunings quickly. We write songs in many different tunings, so the Tronical system allows me to change tunings with a push of a button. I play this guitar when we get to a city early and I want to sit in a park and unwind and play.

Photo of Beta Radio courtesy of Nettwerk

Gig Bag: Special Consensus

Posted on by Editor

Welcome to Gig Bag, a BGS feature that peeks into the touring essentials of some of our favorite artists. This time around, Greg Cahill from Special Consensus details the items he always have nearby when out on the road.

Lightweight long-sleeve shirts: I am always most comfortable traveling when wearing a comfortable shirt, preferably with pockets. I, of course, do wear t-shirts in a warm climate, but the long-sleeve lightweight shirts have pockets for reading glasses and my phone, and often keep me cooler than a t-shirt. Long sleeves rolled up a bit keeps sun off my arms — I have had brushes with skin cancer from all the sun I absorbed at outdoor festivals over the years, so I must be careful about the sun. In colder climates, I do were a nice flannel shirt or sweater.

Cowboy boots and jeans: I have worn cowboy boots all the time for probably at least 40 years. They seem to mold to one’s feet when broken in and are most comfortable. Lucchese, Tony Lama, and Justin boots are my favorites. I wear boots on stage, so I always wear a pair and keep a stage pair handy. Jeans are also an essential element of my comfort zone and “look.”

Handy all-purpose tool: I always keep this thing handy. It has a bottle opener, corkscrew and cork remover, and a small knife blade. I keep the Boy Scout (and US Army) motto in mind at all times: “Be prepared.”

Sunscreen: This is essential, especially when we play outdoor festivals. I have had too many sun damage things removed from my skin over the years. We never thought about putting on lotion “back in the day …”

Shoe polish: I know this seems weird, but we often play an outdoor festival — getting my boots caked with dust or mud or rain water — and then play a theater the next day. Much easier to just wipe the boots clean and quick polish than to keep rubbing them on my pants or paper towels to make them look presentable.

Extra strings and picks: There is always that one time when the extra strings I thought I had in the banjo case were not there, or when the pick dropped in the dirt by the stage at night can’t be found quickly. Always good to have extras of everything in the bag.

Black t-shirt and ball cap: I often wear a black or white t-shirt under my stage shirt to better absorb sweat, rather than blowing out the armpits! Also keep a ball cap for sun and rain protection.

Gig Bag: Mipso

Posted on by Editor

Welcome to Gig Bag, a BGS feature that peeks into the touring essentials of some of our favorite artists. This time around, Mipso details the items they always have nearby when out on the road.

Portable grist mill: Any musician will tell you there is nothing worse than arriving to the gig only to realize you’re short three pounds of cornmeal. This portable mill won’t get you the fine grind we’ve come to expect in 2018, but it’ll work in a pinch.

Joseph’s wisdom teeth: From back in the day. They come in handy when we need a boost of confidence or to eat chewy dried fruits. Best part is they fit in a handy plastic pouch that he carries in his knapsack.

Pocket diorama: Who can forget the elephant graveyard scene from The Lion King? Wood had his friend Harmony in Asheville carve this little 2D scene out of local steel so he could stare at the landscape wherever he is.

Slime: Okay, we know it’s technically for kids, but we can’t get enough of this craze! Mold it, squish it, spread it across your face — you can’t help but smile and forget, for a moment, that your whole existence is riding in a van for six hours a day and trying desperately to make people like you.

Lede photo credit: D.L. Anderson

Gig Bag: Rod Picott

Posted on by Editor

Welcome to Gig Bag, a BGS feature that peeks into the touring essentials of some of our favorite artists. This time around, Rod Picott details the items he always has nearby when out on the road.

Passport: I tour Europe every year, sometimes twice. Every country has different, shadowy rules regarding the validity of your passport. I got stuck in the Netherlands once because my passport wasn’t valid for 30 days after it expired. Huh? Exactly. “You can come in, but you can’t leave because this passport will only be valid for another 28 days when you leave.” “But it will be valid … for another 28 days.” “We require 30 days …”

Calton flight case: This case has been to 48 States, 20 European tours, lost, found, abused, kicked, dropped, insulted, hurled, and humiliated. In all that time, the Gibson J-45 inside has remained intact. I might have jinxed myself writing this, but so far …

Uniball Vision Elite and notebook: The notebook pages must tear from the top (for driving) and there is no better pen in the kingdom of pens than the Uniball Vision Elite Fine Point. The cover clicks on with a satisfying, solid “thunk” — you can do this repetitively to help you think — and the pen has a sort of scratchy quality that really tells your hand you are writing something. You’re almost carving into the paper, when you wield this pen, and you can’t feel the roller roll at all. It’s like writing with a knife.

Shure SM-58 Beta: Sometimes the sound person would prefer you use the mic that they have tuned the room for. My only response is, “I don’t share a mic with anyone I haven’t kissed.” The little bit of extra high end on this tank of a microphone helps my ragged baritone cut through a bit more than a regular SM-58.

A long book: The terrifying moment of finishing a book mid-tour will bring on a panic attack. Ideally, you will close the last page as the flight attendant brings your last tiny bottle of cabernet — just before the landing gear engages. If you get it wrong and finish some Nicholson Baker or Ron Rash and have to buy another book, it’s no tragedy. You get to go to a bookstore. But then you have to carry two books. I’m all about utility. If you see some friends on tour, sometimes you can trade. That works, too.

The merchandise box: The cardinal rule of touring — never ever run out of merchandise. This one was decorated on the inside by Amanda Shires, back when we were touring together. A fan gave me one of these feather things to replace one that fell off. I think it’s a make-up box from the 1940s or 1950s. I’ve had it so long, the handle is bare metal. The leather peeled off slowly over all the years of touring — like rings on a tree but in reverse. I figure, on the very last tour, when I’m 80, the handle will fall off as I sell the last CD. Then I’ll keel over in a corner booth, and they can bury my ashes in it. Or someone can keep it. It will be the ultimate piece of merchandise. “I have all the CDs.” “Oh yeah? I have the guy in a box. It was only 15 bucks.”

BGS 5+5: Red River Dialect

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Red River Dialect
Hometown: Falmouth, Cornwall, UK
Latest Album: Broken Stay Open Sky
Rejected Band Names: Bread River Dialect

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

Ed – When we play small venues and crowd all six of us on a small stage.
Simon – Looking at the ceiling whilst playing at Bush Hall, London.
Kiran – Playing to 200 ravers in Sunderland.
Robin – Playing the beautiful piano at Servant Jazz Quarters in London.
David – Auctioning a week-old jacket potato at Stainsby Festival.
Coral – Playing Hebden Bridge Trades club with Joan Shelley and Nathan Salsburg.

As you travel around the world, what is the overriding sense you get of the people?

All – So far, we have only toured in the UK, but as we get to play with bands from elsewhere and learn about the places they are from and have visited, our eagerness to see the places that have become part of their songs and the song of the world increases.

If you had to write a mission statement for your career, what would it be?

All – To find a way to have more time to play together, and to explore our other projects, too.

Since food and music go so well together, what would be your dream pairing of a meal and a musician?

Simon – Nutella Fitzgerald
Kiran – Herby Hamhock
Ed – Tallest Naan on Earth
Robin – Vegetarian Jelly Furtado
David – Oashish
Coral – Bread River Dialect

How often do you hide behind a character in a song or use “you” when it’s actually “me”?

David – It’s always me, but those “mes” are impermanent and have passed away once the song is written.

Photo credit: Hannah Rose Whittle

Gig Bag: Ron Pope

Posted on by Editor

Welcome to Gig Bag, a BGS feature that peeks into the touring essentials of some of our favorite artists. This time around, Ron Pope catalogs the items he always has nearby when out on the road.

Wrangler denim shirts: I own a bunch of these. My friend Jeff Malinowski gave me my first one because he had one that didn’t fit him. After that, I started a little collection. I like not having to think about what I put on. One of these shirts, black jeans, boots, leather jacket, done.

Rev. Willy’s Mexican Lottery brand slide: This slide is super heavy and made of porcelain. I love the warmth that it lends to my slide tone. Most other slide players tend toward lighter materials, but I play like a monkey, so I go with heavy strings (.12-.52 with a wound G), super high action, and these heavy slides. Slide guitar is a fickle mistress, so anything you can find that makes you feel better about your playing is a plus to me.

Old brown boots: I was in Portland, Oregon, on tour. My buddy Zach Berkman and I were trying to find some dress clothes for a friend’s wedding because we were about to fly out for it, and we didn’t bring those kinds of clothes out on the road. We went into a store and he saw these brown boots that were on sale. He asked about them, but they only had one pair left and they happened to be size 13 (my size). I’ve had them resoled, reheeled, and patched countless times. They’ve been on four continents with me. I think they cost around $18.

Ordning & Reda pen: I went into an Ordning & Reda store in Stockholm a number of years ago and bought one of these pens, then wrote a bunch of songs I really liked using that pen. Now they’re the only pens I write songs with. Every year, I go back into that same shop and buy one new pen with a different color grip. I’m not especially superstitious, so these pens are the closest things to a good luck charm that I have.

Rawlings leather backpack: I was shopping for a third anniversary gift for my wife, Blair, and “leather” is the traditional theme for third anniversary gifts. I knew she wanted a new backpack, so I was looking for a leather one she might like. As I searched, I happened upon this bag, which reminded me of an old baseball glove. That made me nostalgic, since I grew up playing the game, so we both got new leather backpacks. Hers doesn’t look like a baseball glove, though.

Gig Bag: Ben Miller Band

Posted on by Editor

Welcome to Gig Bag, a BGS feature that peeks into the touring essentials of some of our favorite artists. This time around, Ben Miller catalogs the items he always has nearby when out on the road.

Seiko watch: I got this as a Christmas gift a few years back and it almost never leaves my wrist. Keeps good time, water resistant, easy to read, and the band is titanium so it doesn’t feel like a lead weight.

Soldering iron: When you play homemade instruments and tour all over, you will break things. Many of these things can be fixed by duct tape. However, if you run into a wiring problem on rickety electronic components, having a soldering iron close by is essential. This item has saved many shows. Picture the band huddled around an ailing instrument backstage nervously performing last minute surgery.

Murray’s Pomade: I have wild hair, it tends to do what it wants. Murray’s seems to generally keep it in place. Another plus is that it is widely available and about as cheap as it gets. And, when the tin is empty it makes a great container for screws, coins, string, picks….you get the idea.

Great Value Energy Powder: On long tours when your tolerance for caffeine has gotten so great that a cup of coffee has the same effect as chamomile tea, this elixir will help you stay awake on long drives. Use sparingly though, I’m not too sure if it is healthy for you and if you build a tolerance to energy powder, the next step in stimulants requires clandestine meet ups with shady characters in back alleys adjacent to college campuses.

Baby: Meet baby Buwayne. I know he looks creepy. He is something of a mascot. I saw him in a thrift store near Cleveland and thought he would be a good prop for photo shoots and then he just became a fixture in the van. He serves no real purpose, and when he eventually gets left somewhere on the road I doubt I will get a replacement. But, for now, he is along for the ride.

Photo credit: Carl Geers

Gig Bag: JD McPherson

Posted on by Editor

Welcome to Gig Bag, a BGS feature that peeks into the touring essentials of some of our favorite artists. This time around, JD McPherson catalogs the items he always has nearby when out on the road.

Muhammad Ali jump rope: I found this jump rope in a junk mall and, in keeping with my tradition, every time I find a mildly eccentric exercise tool (i.e., kettlebells?!), made a solemn vow to use them every time I stepped out of the van or the bus. I’ve used them maybe 10 times in five years.

20 oz YETI tumbler w/ magnetic lid mechanism: The whole band got these as gifts, and now it’s like there are six Gollums and six precious rings in our group. There’s a constant game of picking up random tumblers and checking underneath for your own name in Sharpie. “WHERE’S MY YETI?” is heard a lot around our camp. Our Scottish tour manager says it like this: “YEH – EE” with no “T” sound.

These things are like gold. Your coffee stays hot for A DAY. Try one, and then try traveling with coffee in anything else. You get nods of approval from the Anytown baristas, when you plop that bad boy up on the counter. They know that six shots of espresso they just brewed for you will stay hot all day. We make gigantic drinks on the rocks in these and carry them onstage. Can’t do without. “WHERE’S MY YEH-EEEEEEEE??”

World’s Tiniest Bible™ and Illuminations by Arthur Rimbaud: Shown in tandem to emphasize their contradictory natures. I’ve had this Bible for ages, but I can’t read this copy because the print is too small. The print is tiny. It came with a credit card-sized magnifier — seriously, you can’t read it without it — but I lost it. I carry it as a good luck charm.

I bought this copy of Illuminations at the famous City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco. Ray [Jacildo, my keys player] was showing me all the Beat Generation haunts in his town, and I figured the most Beatnik thing I could buy was a copy of Illuminations. I read it from time to time and, once in a while, it sparks an idea. “Under the Spell of City Lights” was written after running around SF with Ray.

Dixon Ticonderoga pencil with yarn cozy: Last Christmas, my youngest daughter bought a box of these pencils I like and painstakingly wrapped each end in yarn as a Christmas gift, so that her daddy could write songs more comfortably. I always keep one with me. Without question, best present I ever received.

VEB leather envelope with Chimayo trim: A friend of mine, John Villanueva, is a Marine. When he has downtime (frequently on a battleship), he painstakingly makes some of the highest-quality leather goods I’ve ever seen. Each hole is hand-hammered, each stitch is hand-stitched, and everything is perfectly symmetrical. I think it’s Chromexcel leather, which is like the best stuff you can get. His wife Jillian handed me this envelope as a gift from him a few years ago, and it’s one of my favorite possessions.

I keep receipts from the road in it, extra guitar picks, my passport when we’re headed overseas … anything that needs keepin’. This thing is so nice, it’ll be an heirloom for my kids and their kids. John makes other items, too. He’s also a well-respected vintage menswear blogger, and an expert on vintage engineer boots.

Mister Freedom denim fly bag

This bag. It holds all of my things I use frequently when I’m sitting in an airplane or van seat: headphones, pens, power cables, lozenges, earplugs, books, etc. I also keep a loony survival bracelet that has a compass, flint and steel, and fishing kit sewn into it in case the plane goes down and I survive and land on an uncharted island.

The bag is produced by my good friend Christophe Loiron, also knows as “Mister Freedom,” a Frenchman living in Los Angeles. His Mister Freedom store on Beverly Boulevard makes high-end classic menswear with an historical/utilitarian focus. I go in every single time I have to go to L.A., even just to be in there … I can’t explain how cool it is. Go see for yourself. All the stuff he sells will last a lifetime and looks better the more you use it.

Photo credit: Joshua Black Wilkins

Gig Bag: Blitzen Trapper

Posted on by Editor

Welcome to Gig Bag, a BGS feature that peeks into the touring essentials of some of our favorite artists. This time around, Blitzen Trapper’s Eric Earley gives us a look at what the band has to have handy when they are out on the road.

Lucky boots: I always bring my lucky boots, bought for $8 in Tucson in ’07. Road worn and wise, they’ve seen things and walked weird roads upon the Earth.

Tape recorder: Can’t forget the trusty Sony VOR. Nothing like tiny tape to capture the waking world in all its glory. Sounds live on or die accordingly. Call me old school, but I prefer the non-digital hand held.

Pen: Always with a four-color pen, Made in France like good wine, never know when you’ll need an overlooked color choice. “Treat words with respect” is a fine motto.

Bracelet: Mike always wears his bravery bracelet, which his son Winter used to get through those first few scary days of kindergarten.

Books: Brian always brings far more books than he can possibly read, but “better safe than sorry” is a fine motto, once again.